VAT help

[slati_2013]

I sold some items to a buyer  in Sweden. I specifically listed no international shipping but eBay thought otherwise. From the start I knew this would not end well. I even tried to get the buyer to try to buy the items from Sweden or Europe, but he persisted and bought them. I shipped to eBay who then shipped to him. Today he sent me this email:

"Hi,
it says on the listing that VAT is included in the price, but just got hit with a 80 USD VAT claim from Swedish customs.
Called customs and they say that there was no indication on the package that the shipper should pay VAT, and that I should contact the shipper. Reading the fine print it seems that Ebay takes out VAT in their shipping price and are supposed to transfer that amount to the customs in the country the goods are sent to, but that I don't have any options to contact Ebay for the listing, that can only be done by the one putting up the listing.

Could you please check whats happened here with Ebay?"

I know nothing about VAT, and even less about eBay international shipping. Any advice of how I should respond?

[lacemaker3]

@slati_2013 

I can't see that you have listed or sold any items on this account. We would be able to give you better help if you shared the item number so we could see it.

How much was the sale price plus shipping? If it was less than €150, then eBay did collect the VAT, but if it was more than €150, then eBay didn't collect VAT and the buyer does need to pay it on delivery.

Your profile says you are located in the USA, was this item shipped from the USA? Did you put eBay's VAT/IOSS numbers on the package? It sounds like you didn't, because the buyer says that customs says they are not on the package. That's what you should have done.

This is what eBay says you should tell your buyer to do if they are asked to pay VAT again on an order where VAT was already collected by eBay. The buyer's invoice should be available through their purchase history page, or on the order details for the purchase.

https://export.ebay.com/en/fees-and-payments/taxes-and-accounting/vat-eu-2021/

... For transactions where eBay has collected VAT, eBay will issue an invoice to the buyers confirming the VAT amount charged and showing eBay’s IOSS number. If the buyer is asked to pay VAT again on import of the goods into the EU, please inform the buyer to check the invoice and share it with customs. You can also share the order details with the buyer where eBay’s IOSS number and the VAT amount collected by eBay will be visible.

[steady2304]

It actually depends on what the total value of the package was. eBay collects VAT for EU customers for any purchase under $150.00 Euros. Anything over that amount the customer would have to pay it when it arrives in country. Go to your Order Details page and see if the VAT was charged by eBay to your buyer. 

[lacemaker3]

Too late to edit: since you shipped this to eBay, and they sent it on to Sweden, it must have been eBay International Shipping. They should have put the correct information on the international shipping label automatically.

Since your buyer is being charged about $80 for VAT, which is 25% in Sweden, that means it is being charged on about $320, which  is about €295. So eBay would not have collected the VAT because this is over the €150 threshold.

I would need to be able to see the listing to try to see whether it said VAT was included or not.

If these were multiple listings, then it is possible that each listing individually might have been below the threshold, but if they were combined into one package, then it would have been over the threshold. That would explain why the buyer thought it was included, but it wasn't.

[slati_2013]

What your buyer paid

Item subtotal (5)

$250.00

Shipping

$26.00

Order total

$276.00

The listing which was for shipping to the US only was $14 for shipping. I shipped it to the eBay hub and they handled everything else. That is the sum total of my involvement in this sale.   I find it hard to believe that the buyer was charged only $26 to ship the items to Sweden. They were five small boxes containing radio microphones for Motorola radios. I shipped them in a box 12 X 12 X 6 box and the total for the shipping to the Illinois eBay hub was slightly over $14. Not heavy at all. My listing said nothing about VAT etc, because it had "No international shipping" selected. 

[monica-sells]

When I handle international shipping myself....collected VAT would be indicated on the order details page as well as the packing slip.....

The responses you received so far are correct. Your customer "should not" have been charged VAT with the order, (due to the threshold)

(...If it was less than €150, then eBay did collect the VAT, but if it was more than €150, then eBay didn't collect VAT and the buyer does need to pay it on delivery...)

However, since we do not see the FINAL INVOICE W/Shipping on it (due to the fact we ship it to the hub) and only the buyer sees the full totals, we do not know...

where did he see it on the listing? (as his message to you stated)

[slati_2013]

As to where the buyer saw my listings, I got this from eBay a couple of days ago:

"Hi XXXXXX,

We’re reaching out to let you know that eBay International Shipping is now displayed as an option on your eligible listings, in addition to your current shipping methods. This change introduces a convenient additional shipping option your buyers can select for your international sales and allows you to offer additional shipping alternatives. They’ll be able to choose the shipping option that’s right for them, and pay any applicable import charges at checkout or upon delivery.

Please note that the benefits of eBay International Shipping are only available to both you and your buyer when your buyer opts for it during their purchase.

If you have any questions or concerns, just get in touch. We’re here to help.

Thanks for being part of the eBay community."

I have been researching the forums and many EU buyers have complained about this issue claiming they were charged VAT twice plus additional fees and several vowed to never buy from the US again. As I have written, all I did was ship to the eBay hub. I have no idea what the final invoice looked like of what was charged or included. 

I got this while searching the forums. I wonder if it is pertinent to my case:

VAT prepaid on eBay International Standard Delivery, for an order shipped from the USA to the EU 

[lacemaker3]

---

@slati_2013 wrote:

What your buyer paid

Item subtotal (5)

$250.00

Shipping

$26.00

Order total

$276.00

The listing which was for shipping to the US only was $14 for shipping. I shipped it to the eBay hub and they handled everything else. That is the sum total of my involvement in this sale.   I find it hard to believe that the buyer was charged only $26 to ship the items to Sweden. They were five small boxes containing radio microphones for Motorola radios. I shipped them in a box 12 X 12 X 6 box and the total for the shipping to the Illinois eBay hub was slightly over $14. Not heavy at all. My listing said nothing about VAT etc, because it had "No international shipping" selected. 

---

@slati_2013 

If you received $26 for shipping, then that was only your part, to cover the domestic shipping to the EIS hub. The buyer would also have been charged extra for the international shipping, but it would not have been processed into your account. It would have been sent to EIS to pay for the international shipping.

I assume that this was a multi-quantity listing, and the buyer bought 5 of the radios from the single listing. So the price would have been $50 each, so 5 * $50 = $250. Individually, they were each below the €150 threshold, so when the buyer viewed the listing before they purchased/made the offer, they would have seen that VAT would have been included if they had only purchased one.

However, when they bought all of them together, even without including the shipping (which is subject to VAT), the total of $250 would be about €230 and it's over the €150 threshold. I don't think your buyer realized or understood that. This may be complicated by the fact that in Sweden they use Kronor, not Euros.

Because of that, I don't think the buyer was actually charged VAT on the purchase. But, they need to get the copy of their invoice, as I said earlier, and if they paid VAT it will be shown on the invoice. If the invoice doesn't show VAT, then they weren't charged VAT up front, and need to pay it at delivery.

Based on what your buyer said they were being charged for VAT (US$80), they apparently were charged about $44 for the international shipping, which sounds about right. I think your buyer paid about $320 total, which did not include VAT.

If the buyer actually paid $400, then they were charged VAT and they need to get their invoice and show it to the customs office to prove it. Then they should be allowed to pick up their package.

Here is an approximate summary of the charges and how they add up:

Item	Quantity	Price	Amount
Radios	5	$     50.00	$  250.00
US shipping			$     26.00
Subtotal			$   276.00
Int. shipping			$     44.00
Total			$   320.00
VAT		25%	$     80.00

[slati_2013]

My listing had a $14 shipping fee which was used for FVFs. I guess the other $12 bringing the shipping to $26 was charged by eBay. The buyer has yet to pay the VAT because it is still showing as not delivered. The package seems to be stuck at customs waiting for the VAT to be paid. I feel this is coming back to me. 

I do agree with you that the buyer did not understand there is a threshold and was assuming eBay would collect VAT no matter the amount. I have emailed him this information. I am waiting for his response. 

[lacemaker3]

@slati_2013

Looking at another multi-quantity listing that is very similar to the radio microphone listing (but is still active), it shows these prices for shipping to the EIS hub in Illinois. So I think that the listing charged extra shipping for each additional item purchased.

Quantity:	Shipping:
1	$       14.85
2	$       18.70
3	$      23.95
4	$      39.65

(I'm pretty sure I found the listing in question, so I checked another, active, listing from the same account.)

[slati_2013]

Everyone, thanks for your help. I urged the buyer to try to get in contact with eBay because this was out of my hands. He did. I just got this from the buyer:

"Hi again,
I got the tip to contact Ebay through chat and they seem to be able to fix it/they said they will refund me the VAT in a couple of days, so you can let it go.

Thanks for the help anyway!"

[martin2001]

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@slati_2013 wrote:

Everyone, thanks for your help. I urged the buyer to try to get in contact with eBay because this was out of my hands. He did. I just got this from the buyer:

"Hi again,
I got the tip to contact Ebay through chat and they seem to be able to fix it/they said they will refund me the VAT in a couple of days, so you can let it go.

Thanks for the help anyway!"

---

I hope he will get the promised refund...but everybody says that he shouldn't have paid VAT because of the threshold, but your buyer says they will refund VAT? I think you can expect another message from your buyer in a few days, asking abut the refund. I wonder why ebay didn't refund right away.

[tsme35]

I got hit today, does ebay charges fee's on the VAT, looks like I got charged for it